Thread: Shave Ready - What does it mean?

I completely forgot to explain where I got it from. The razor in question is from Straight Razor Designs, and it was my understanding that every razor from there would be honed by Lynn Abrams. I do not question their ability nor the razor's shave readiness. After stropping, the razor is much better. I just was hoping to get a razor out of the box that would shave better than anything I could have done. Having to strop it may be normal, but it messed up my "target" because now I will always wonder if I am stropping properly.

The oil was not exactly dry or hardened. It just was some kind of gel in a few spots and so it looked like pits at first, until I realized it was just some gel/oil substance.

In all reality, I am pleased with the purchase and the honing. I just want to make sure that I have a good reference/target for honing, but also so I know what a good shave should be like.

Thanks for all the replies!

Sounds like your honing is pretty good then. I've shaved with a few razors honed by other people. One was wicked sharp, I was very impressed. Another was "acceptable" and some others needed touching up.

I suppose the answer is if it shaves just as good or better than what you expect, then its shave ready.

Originally Posted by Leighton

I suppose the answer is if it shaves just as good or better than what you expect, then its shave ready.

The boy learns fast

i have got several restored shave ready razors of a guy of ebay who goes by the name altima. They are like brand new it amazes me how he does it. and they are all shave ready but can vary it varys from differant razor i think and also aftetr athew shaves they do improve. I have also touched them up on bbw/coti and it has improved them slightly to my liking thats all. I no he uses 4k 8k and 12k kitiyama he does'nt use tpt at all he uses magnification only he his very good but like i say i like to put my final touch on the razors my self.

It sounds to me like a whole lot of testing going on. I find that many folks are predisposed when it comes to shaving based on the amazing amount of tests they perform before trying to shave. New is always a factor too. I am a fan of stropping every razor before shaving. The newly honed ones that I do have a coating of oil on them that needs to be wiped off before shaving. You don't necessarily have to strop, but I always do because of the oil. At worst, we always are willing to re-hone a razor.

I just saw your email and it says after you stropped the razor shaved rather nicely.

Thanks,

Lynn

Ok, based on all the answers, my own shaves, and so on, I think I will conclude that:

- This razor is very shave ready, but needed an oil wipe and stropping.
- The razor not shaving at all before this is most likely my inexperience. A perfect razor is probably still "shaving poorly" for me since I don't have the shave/prep perfected yet. Therefore I think if the razor is slightly not ready, then for me it is not shaving without much pulling.
- My beard prep is poor. (I knew this, but I still wait for my supplies in the mail)
- The razor is different. It is heavier and feels different. This may have threw me off too and it was just easier to go back to the JA Henckels razor.

...and finally

- I believe this razor shows me what an excellently honed razor should be and that I need more work on the shave portion.

I am really happy with the new razor purchase and the condition it came in.

Many thanks to all!!!

After another shave, using both razors, they seem to be doing well. I tackled the mustache area and my chin and did a bit better job. The JA Henckels seemed to do better in these areas, but I think I am not stropping the Dovo as good. It is heavier, thicker, and maybe angled differently. If I watch closely, I see I lift the blade a lot and thus am just running the spine down. I'll keep watching.

BTW, Lynn sent a nice email that said I could send it back for honing again if its a problem. However, I don't think I'll do that because I am 99% sure that it is me!

I'll keep this up to date after a few more shaves and after some real soap/brush prep.

For fun, I looked at the razors under a microscope. The Lynn-honed Dovo is clearly "sharper". It has a nice polished edge. Now I can visually see my target.

Last night, I got a good shave (by my standards) out of the Dovo. It's getting better. As I posted in another thread, there are other factors that need improving, and are improving, that contribute to my poor shaves.

Thanks for helping me understand what to expect out of a new shave-ready razor and for giving me confidence in my "reference".